Following a week-long vigil for peace, the Archbishop of York has claimed that the Middle East conflict is now the greatest recruiting tool for Muslim extremists.

The violence in the region could continue for years, Dr John Sentamu warned. He issued the prediction as he ended his seven-day fast and vigil in a tent for peace in York Minster. As he did, he immediately called for international efforts to be intensified to end the troubles.

“The events of the past weeks, in the Lebanon, Israel, the United States and Britain, have demonstrated that we cannot afford any longer to leave the issues of the Middle East in the pending tray of unresolved business,” the primate said.

He went on: “There is no greater recruiting sergeant for would-be Jihadists than the conflict in the Middle East. Without urgent action on our part, for their sakes and our own, the spiral of violence that has lasted longer than the whole of my life-time — and I am 57 — will continue unabated, as new generations become mired in the enmity of their forefathers.